Multi-well controller
First Claim
1. A well control system for operating a plurality of production wells in relation to one another to maximize utilization of shared production facilities comprising flow lines, piping, compressors, compressor stations, tankage, separators or combinations thereof, said system comprising:
- at least one aboveground production well controller mounted on a wellhead flow line for each of the plurality of production wells;
each of the plurality of production wells having a flow routable through a meter run/flow line shareable by one or more of the production wells, the meter run/flow line in communication with a shared production facility;
at least one well flow measuring device mounted on the wellhead flow line of each of the plurality of production wells, the at least one flow measuring device being either existing infrastructure or newly installed infrastructure;
a master well controller communicating with one or more of the well flow measuring devices, one or more of the production well controllers or combinations thereof; and
wherein the master well controller can monitor data derived from the one or more well flow measuring devices, one or more production well controllers or combinations thereof, to determine the sequence by which to open or close a surface valve located upstream of the shared production facility based on a portion of the data, thereby opening or closing the one or more production wells in relation to one another so as to enable flow optimization and to reduce the occurrence of bottlenecks at the shared production facility.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An improved multi-well control system (MWCS) has a centrally based multi-well controller (MWC) in communication with one or more slave controllers and one or more electronic flow measurement devices (EFMs) for instant data monitoring and control of individual wells. The system also provides for an application host sub-system (AHSS) in communication with the MWC for historical and instant data retention. The system is capable of assigning one or more wells to a group for allocation purposes and organizing groups dependent on production levels of individual wells. The MWC is capable of tracking gas volumes produced by each well independent of groupings and communicating such data to the AHSS. The MWC provides monitoring and tracking data from one or more EFM devices and assigns total flow volume to individual wells. The entire MWCS can result in the reduction of manpower and an increase in overall production efficiency.
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Citations
34 Claims
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1. A well control system for operating a plurality of production wells in relation to one another to maximize utilization of shared production facilities comprising flow lines, piping, compressors, compressor stations, tankage, separators or combinations thereof, said system comprising:
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at least one aboveground production well controller mounted on a wellhead flow line for each of the plurality of production wells; each of the plurality of production wells having a flow routable through a meter run/flow line shareable by one or more of the production wells, the meter run/flow line in communication with a shared production facility; at least one well flow measuring device mounted on the wellhead flow line of each of the plurality of production wells, the at least one flow measuring device being either existing infrastructure or newly installed infrastructure; a master well controller communicating with one or more of the well flow measuring devices, one or more of the production well controllers or combinations thereof; and wherein the master well controller can monitor data derived from the one or more well flow measuring devices, one or more production well controllers or combinations thereof, to determine the sequence by which to open or close a surface valve located upstream of the shared production facility based on a portion of the data, thereby opening or closing the one or more production wells in relation to one another so as to enable flow optimization and to reduce the occurrence of bottlenecks at the shared production facility. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A well control system for remotely controlling and operating the opening and closing of one or more hydrocarbon production wells in relation to one another for flow optimization purposes, said system comprising:
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an aboveground production well controller mounted on a wellhead flow line of a first production well; a plurality of flow measuring devices, each mounted on a wellhead flow line associated with other production wells, the flow measuring devices being either existing infrastructure or newly installed infrastructure; the first production well having a flow routable through the plurality of flow measuring devices; a master well controller communicating with the production well controller, the plurality of flow measuring devices or a combination thereof; and wherein the master well controller can monitor data derived from the production well controller, the plurality of flow measuring devices or the combination thereof, to determine the sequence by which to open or close a surface valve located upstream of a shared production facility based on a portion of the data, thereby opening or closing the one or more production wells in relation to one another so as to enable flow optimization and to reduce the occurrence of bottlenecks at the shared production facility. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. A well control system for controlling the opening and closing of a plurality of hydrocarbon production wells in a multiple well facility for flow optimization purposes to reduce the occurrence of flow bottlenecks, said system comprising:
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a plurality of production well controllers, each of the plurality of production well controllers mounted at a surface location adjacent a wellhead for a production well producing a flow; each of the plurality of production well controllers receiving and recording data from a plurality of above ground flow measuring devices; and at least one master well controller to monitor data derived from the plurality of flow measuring devices, the plurality of production well controllers, or both, and to open/close one or more of the production wells in a sequential relationship with each other based on a portion of the data, thereby adjusting well production for one or more of the production wells in a matter determined to be a maximization of production. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A multi-well control system operating a one or more wells or discrete groups of wells based on well production characteristics so as to reduce bottlenecking at a shared production facility, said system comprising:
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at least one master well controller communicating with one or more production well controllers each receiving production data from one or more wells, the one or more wells in fluid communication with a shared production facility; wherein said production data can be used to establish a well grouping configuration comprising one or more wells assignable to one or more discrete well groups, said discrete well groups based on predetermined criteria; and wherein said at least one master well controller utilizes a control algorithm to restrict the operation of a certain discrete well groups in favor of other discrete well groups to reduce the occurrence of bottlenecking at the shared production facility and to minimize downtime. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A multi-well control system monitoring and allocating production from one or more wells, said system comprising:
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at least one master well controller communicating with one or more slave well controllers, each receiving production data from one or more wells, the one or more slave well controllers being either existing infrastructure or newly installed infrastructure; wherein product from one or more open wells can flow across a respective meter during production, before said one or more open wells shut in and one or more successor wells opens, thereby becoming known as predecessor wells; wherein an amount of product attributable to said one or more predecessor wells can continue to flow across a respective meter; wherein said attributable amount of product can be allocated to a specific target, the target being one or more existing wells or an illusory well. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification